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When you've got billions of dollars to your name, catching a cushy flight to anywhere in the world usually isn't a challenge. Most billionaires, especially CEOs and other business tycoons, have private jets that they can rely on. While you could easily argue against the use of private jets due to their harmful environmental impact, there's no denying their convenience compared to even first-class commercial air travel.
That's why people were quite confused when, on June 17, a New Zealander CEO diverted an international commercial flight so he could "hitch a ride." Stranger still, this wasn't just some random rich dude with no knowledge of the aviation industry: the hitchhiker was Greg Foran, the CEO of Air New Zealand.
According to @brutamerica , the Air New Zealand flight was en route from New Zealand to Tokyo when Foran ordered them to make an unscheduled stop in Brisbane, Australia , to pick up him and a "stranded group of trade delegates" after their aircraft experienced mechanical issues. The diversion added another two hours to the already-lengthy flight, and while Foran apologized over the intercom and assisted the crew with cabin service , the passengers were reportedly not compensated for the delay.
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Sounds bizarre, right? Many people were particularly miffed by the reported lack of any compensation offered to the inconvenienced passengers.
"The passenger should've been offered a full refund and a few extra flights to boot. And if that wasn't offered, then the airline and CEO should be fined on top of having to compensate passengers," argued @whatanicecerealbox.
"[Air New Zealand] should have compensated passengers, that's a 9-hour flight getting pushed to 11 hours," agreed @pieman7414.
I think having a conversation about whether or not a refund should have been offered is warranted. However, if we're going to critique the diversion itself, we should acknowledge that this situation was a bit more complex than it appears on the surface!
A Diplomatic Dilemma
Foran was actually accompanied by a pretty prestigious posse. According to One Mile at a Time , Foran was actually part of a group including the Prime Minister of New Zealand, the country's Trade Minister, and " 30 top business executives ." The Prime Minister and his delegation had quite the appointment to keep, too, as according to CNN , they were en route to a summit with Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida . So when the New Zealand PM's 30-year-old Boeing 757 suffered a "fuse issue" while refueling in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, they needed to figure out an alternative flight fast!
According to OMaaT , the PM's plane barely made it from Papua New Guinea to Brisbane flying at low altitude, but a trip to Japan was out of the question. That's when Foran made the decision to divert an Air New Zealand flight so he and the New Zealand trade delegation could make their summit on time. They even sat in economy, filling whatever available seats they could. All in all, it was a pretty high-level example of "hitchhiking," but at least they had a good reason for it!
With that additional context, this story seems a little less ridiculous than it initially did. While I still think arguing that compensation should have been offered is fair, especially if the delay caused anyone to miss their connection, it wasn't like Foran was using the flight like an Uber just for some frivolous reason benefitting only himself. Be you an average Joe, an airline CEO, or the Prime Minister of New Zealand , sometimes all you can do is hitch a ride and hope for the best!
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